PELLA — Three years might not seem like long, but for a Central College men's basketball team with high expectations, it's nice to see a 3-0 record on the schedule for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
It was an all-around great effort for the Dutch Saturday night, as they put three players in double-digits and came away with an 88-65 victory over Bethany Lutheran (Minn.)
"We did a lot of things well tonight," coach Craig Douma said. "We played good team defense, rebounded the ball well and gave guys great looks at the basket."
Central held the Vikings to 41 percent from the floor, while shooting 49 percent themselves and the Dutch won the rebound battle 38-36.
Central led 40-27 at halftime before outscoring the Vikings by 10 in the second half. While the line score might not indicate it, Douma was more impressed with his team's second half performance.
"We did an excellent job sharing the ball and getting good shots off in the second half," he said. "We got some great transition looks and converted them."
The Dutch shot 53 percent from behind the arc in the second half, compared to 25 percent in the first.
Junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston, Iowa) had a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and has back-to-back 25-point contests.
"Colby did a great job of playing inside out tonight," Douma said. "He found some mismatches and took advantage of them."
Junior guard Nate Munn (Ames, Iowa) racked up a season-high 15 points and has now scored 19 and 15 points in his two career games against the Vikings in Mankato.
"Nate caught fire tonight," Douma said. "He seems to always play well at Bethany Lutheran. The team did a great job finding him in transition and he knocked down some shots."
Sophomore guard Kyle Smith (Ionia, Iowa/New Hampton HS) scored 14 points while adding three assists and three steals.
"Kyle played a really solid game," Douma said. "He did a good job on both ends of the court. He took the open look when they were given to him and did not have any turnovers."
The Dutch will take the court at the Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic next Friday and Saturday. Central will face Greenville (Ill.) Friday at 5:30 p.m. before a tilt with host Nebraska Wesleyan Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Dutch took down the Prairie Wolves in a high-scoring affair 132-118 in Pella last season.
"Next weekend, we are playing two teams who like to push the pace and score as much as possible," Douma said. "We need to focus on getting in shape and fine tuning what we do offensively and defensively."
